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Presidential Traits: What makes a great president? |
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August 7, 2000
WASHINGTON (AP) - George W. Bush and Al Gore take note: A team of psychologists says great presidents tend to be take-charge guys, are smart, energetic and assertive, but not necessarily likable or straightforward. "Agreeableness is highly desirable in a neighbor or spouse," the researchers concluded. But when it comes to ranking the great national leaders, "disagreeable presidents do somewhat better." Three researchers consulted 115 presidential historians who helped rate America's 41 presidents on a complex, 600-question psychological scale. Steven J. Rubenzer of Houston presented the research - which he conducted with Thomas J. Faschingbauer of Richmond, Texas, and Deniz S. Ones of the University of Minnesota - at a session of the American Psychological Association on Saturday. The psychologists found that the best performers could learn as they went along. "Openness to experience produced the highest correlation with historian ratings of greatness," they said, noting that Abraham Lincoln and Thomas Jefferson excelled in this category. Low scorers included William Howard Taft and Ulysses S. Grant. Being an extrovert also was a trait strongly associated with greatness, as well as assertiveness. High-assertiveness successes included Theodore Roosevelt and Andrew Jackson, while Calvin Coolidge and Warren G. Harding were lacking in this area. Constant striving for achievement was another strong predictor of greatness, they said. Nearly all U.S. presidents can be ranked among eight general personality types, according to a team of psychologists studying what makes a great president. Consulting with more than 100 historiansearchers were unable to clearly fit James Monroe and Martin Van Buren into any of the groups.
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